6/30/2010

6/28/2010

The kind folks at CSN are once again generously offering my blog readers a chance to shop for free! If you are a new reader or just not familiar with CSN Stores, here's a little background info: CSN Stores features over 200 online stores with a variety of items from cookware to cribs. You can even stop procrastinating on those home improvement projects such as replacing the bathroom vanity because, yes, they have those too.

How do you enter? Simple - leave a comment on this post and tell me what you would buy with your gift certificate. You can use the gift certificate at any of the CSN stores so the options are limitless.

For each additional entry, please post a new comment. Ie, if you tweeted or blogged about the giveaway, come back and post a link. Thanks and good luck!!

Giveaway is open to all US and Canadian residents 18 years or older. Ends Tuesday, July 6th at 9:00pm Eastern time. Winner will be picked by random.org and announced on Wednesday, July 7th. Winner must provide an email address so CSN Stores can contact them with the gift certificate code.

Note: CSN Stores contacted me with this promotional opportunity. I received no compensation.

6/25/2010

Yesterday on a whim I decided to attempt making homemade ice cream cookie sandwiches to share with friends. I had already baked the cookies the night before, but with a forecast of 101, I felt like we needed a little cool factor too. I searched online for directions and the first I found talked about melting the ice cream, mixing in sprinkles, refreezing for 6 hours ... wait - 6 hours? I had maybe 30 minutes. Scratch that idea. So, here's my quick and easy method ...

Pull out the ice cream and let it sit on the counter a few minutes to begin softening. Arrange cookie pairs on plate. Use a knife to thinly slice some ice cream and place it on the bottom of one cookie. Add as much as desired. :) Place the second cookie on top. Press gently to stick it all together. Wrap each sandwich in wax paper. Return to freezer to harden. (Unless you want one immediately - in which case, dig in!) Then when you are ready to enjoy, you can pull out one sandwich, unwrap and eat. Enjoy!

6/24/2010

Last month, our weekly play group took a trip to a local ceramics shop to paint gifts for Father's Day. We had 6 mommies and 6 little ones ranging from 7 to 14 months in age. I confess, I did have my fears (think babies grabbing and tossing ceramic pieces to the floor) but it went so well! With the help of booster seats and a couple of high chairs, we managed to safely secure the group and have fun.

I helped Dylan paint a pencil cup for Trent. Having watched a couple of his friends get their hands painted first, he was a pro at letting me apply the paint to his hand:

Then with the added assistance of one of the other mommies, we placed his hand firmly on the cup. Repeated with the other hand. Added a few brush strokes (which didn't last long as Dylan tried to eat the brush LOL). Then I painted "To Dada / Love, Dylan 2010."

6/21/2010

Two weeks ago, Dylan and I headed west on I-40 to visit friends. As we were approaching the exit for Fayetteville Road in Durham, something on the overpass caught my eye. I noticed it in my peripheral vision and, given that there are panhandlers regularly on the overpass above, I thought that was what I saw. Then I caught a better look as we cruised by and realized it was a statue. Weird. I assumed one of the panhandlers stuck it there. When I mentioned it to Trent later that day, he gave me one of those have you lost your mind looks.

As it happened, we were going west to visit family and would be driving right by that particular overpass. The little gnome was still there. While Trent drove, I whipped out the camera and snapped photos. (Click to enlarge.)

A crop from the photo above:Personally, I think he looks a bit like Smokey the Bear with his hat and what appears to be a shovel in his hand.

ETA: I owe credit to an anonymous commenter for noting the 2 small gnomes over the center bridge column. Here's a crop from the second to last photo above:Purely chance I captured them even slightly in my photo as my focus was on Smokey. Now I'm tempted to drive that way just for another glance and wondering how many others I've driven past....hmmm. The comments also led me to this story - Gnomes on a Mission. Perhaps it's the true tale behind why these creatures are appearing all over Durham? I haven't a clue, but it certainly is entertaining and, yes, I'll be on the lookout for others the next time I cross the county line. :)

6/14/2010

As a mother, it's important to me to give my son the best food possible. From his first day of life, I started by breastfeeding. (Not that I disagree with formula. We even supplemented with some during Dylan's early days at the urging of our pediatrician for health reasons.) As he began to eat solid foods, I starting making his food and I still make the majority of the foods he eats. However, there are some foods I don't make (ie, rice cereal) and sometimes I've just fallen behind or want to mix up the pallet a bit.

I originally stumbled across HappyBaby Food by accident one day perusing foods in the freezer aisle of the grocery store. I loved that they had food just like my homemade ones - organic foods, pureed and frozen into 1 ounce portions. I picked up a box to try at home. Dylan loved the taste and devoured them. I loved the convenience and good nutrition.

When the opportunity arose to taste test a few HappyBaby Food products for a review and giveaway, I jumped at the chance. It was a bit like Christmas when the packages arrived. We received an assortment of frozen and dry foods to try.

Dylan is in a self-feeding stage right now where he prefers to feed himself more than eat off a spoon from us. That said, we started our taste testing with the HappyBites products. The variety of shapes and textures of the different options seemed to grab his attention right away. I think he was curious about these new items that we didn't cut into tiny pieces. He could finally grab, hold and bite into them on his own.

Enjoying a Chicken Bite

The only leftovers on Dylan's highchair tray after trying the Chicken Bites and Salmon Stix were a bit of the breading. Can't blame him there. Personally, I found the Mac+Cheese and the Chicken to be very tasty. All three cooked best in the oven.

We already had some familiarity with the HappyBaby Frozen products so I was excited to see flavors that we hadn't tried in the shipment. Dylan surprised me with his love of the "Mama Grain" mixture of organic bananas, black beans and quinoa. This particular flavor smelled like banana bread. Yum!

The Organic Puffs and HappyMelts were also a big hit. I've tried both myself and found them to be tasty. Dylan eats every piece that he can get his hands on so I take it he finds them tasty too. The puffs were less sugary than other brands we've used which is a huge plus to me as a parent.

All in all, we were very pleased with all the products we tried and Dylan will definitely be enjoying more in the future. Now we want to share with you. Compliments of HappyBaby Food, one reader will win the following:

2 free trial coupons for each of the HappyBaby Food product lines

1 FAQ on Probiotics & DHA

1 Infant & Toddler Nutrition Guide, co-authored by Dr. Sears

1 HappyFamily Recipes

To Enter, leave a comment on this post with your baby's favorite HappyBaby Food product or which product you think your baby might like the best.

For each additional entry, please post a new comment. Ie, if you tweeted or blogged about the giveaway, come back and post a link. Thanks!

Giveaway is open to all US residents 18 years or older. Ends Sunday, June 20th at 9:00pm Eastern time. Winner will be picked by random.org. Winner will be contacted by email address. Be sure to either leave a valid email address along with your comment or check back on Monday, June 21st when the winner is announced to email it to me then.

Note: HappyBaby Food products were received to try for review, however, all opinions expressed are strictly my own.

6/09/2010

Last month, I hosted a giftcard giveaway for CSN Stores and they were kind enough to give me the opportunity to shop as well. With over 200 online stores, there are a LOT of shopping possibilities. I fully expected to make a decision and place my order that week. Instead I had way too much fun surfing their sites to see what my options were.

I finally made my selections and placed my order over Memorial weekend. I chose a necessity (Rolodex refill cards) for our home office and a few fun things for Dylan from CSN Baby. I liked the ease of shopping in two stores with one checkout. I did have to re-login when I shopped the second store, but that was a small price to pay versus having two separate checkouts and two separate charges for shipping costs.

The first package arrived midweek and, by this past Monday (5 business days total), all four items had reached my doorstep. I was quite pleased especially since I had selected regular shipping.

Little 'C' loves balls so much that his parents' are throwing him a ball themed first birthday party. (His mom made the coolest circular invites!) This Basic Grey paper jumped out at me as the perfect fit for his card:

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Thanks for visiting my blog! The thoughts & ideas expressed herein aremy own unless stated otherwise. Please do not duplicate or distribute any images or written content without my prior consent. ~ Sarah